Method and apparatus for migrating active communication session between terminals

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method are disclosed for migrating between terminals. An apparatus that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a network proxy having a controller that manages a communications interface in a communication system. The controller can be programmed to receive a request to migrate a first terminal to a third terminal while active communications are taking place on a first voice channel connecting the first terminal to a second terminal, establish a second voice channel with the third terminal, connect the first and second voice channels, and terminate without action of an end user of the first terminal a connection between the first terminal and the first voice channel. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/666,029, filed Aug. 1, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/358,194, filed Nov. 22, 2016, now issued U.S.Pat. No. 9,756,137, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/420,181, filed May 24, 2006, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 9,537,704,which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to communication techniques,and more specifically to a method and apparatus for migrating betweenterminals.

BACKGROUND

Many consumers today have the choice of wired and wireless communicationservices. While in transit wireless communication services tends to bethe preferred choice. While for those situated in a residence orcommercial enterprise, wired communication services can be lessexpensive and generally offers better voice quality and/or datatransmission throughput.

Transitioning between services during an active communication sessioncan be awkward. For instance, in order for an end user to transitionfrom a landline phone to a cell phone, the user needs to hang up thelandline phone and originate a call on his cell phone with the sameparty. The same is true of the end user entering his residence whilecommunicating on his cell phone and desiring to migrate to a landlinephone.

A need therefore arises for a method and apparatus to migrate betweenterminals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of terminal devices communicatingby way of wired and wireless access points (WAPs) with other terminaldevices and/or a network proxy which collectively operate in acommunication system;

FIG. 2 depicts exemplary embodiments of the terminal device;

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary method operating in portions of thecommunication system; and

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, whenexecuted, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure provide a methodand apparatus for migrating between terminals.

In a first embodiment of the present disclosure, a network proxy canhave a controller that manages a communications interface in acommunication system. The controller can be programmed to receive arequest to migrate a first terminal to a third terminal while activecommunications are taking place on a first voice channel connecting thefirst terminal to a second terminal, establish a second voice channelwith the third terminal, connect the first and second voice channels,and terminate without action of an end user of the first terminal aconnection between the first terminal and the first voice channel.

In a second embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readablestorage medium in a network proxy can have computer instructions formigrating a first terminal, engaged in active communications over afirst voice channel with a second terminal, to a third terminal byconnecting the third terminal to the first voice channel andautomatically terminating a connection between the first terminal andthe first voice channel.

In a third embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readablestorage medium in a first terminal can have computer instructions fortransmitting to a network proxy a request to migrate the first terminal,engaged in active communications over a first voice channel with asecond terminal, to a third terminal by connecting the third terminal tothe first voice channel and automatically terminating a connectionbetween the first terminal and the first voice channel upon completingthe connection with the third terminal.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of terminal devices 116communicating by way of wired and wireless access points (WAPs) withother terminal devices and/or a network proxy 102 which collectivelyoperate in a communication system 100. The communication system 100comprises an IP (Internet Protocol) network 101 coupled to the networkproxy 102, a cellular network 103 and network elements located in abuilding 105 representing an enterprise or residence. The IP network 101utilizes technology for transporting Internet traffic. For an enterprisesetting, the building 105 can include a PBX 114 that provides voiceand/or video connectivity services between terminal devices 116 ofenterprise personnel such as a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) phoneterminal, a Voice over IP (VoIP) phone terminal, or video phoneterminal.

Similarly, in a residential setting, the building 105 can include POTS,VoIP or video terminal phone terminals coupled to a central office 113utilizing conventional telephonic switches for processing calls withthird parties. The network proxy 102 can be used to control operationsof a media gateway 109, the central office 113 and the PBX 114.Communications between the network proxy 102, terminal devices 116 andother network elements of the communication system 100 can conform toany number of signaling protocols such as signaling system 7 (SS7),session initiation protocol (SIP), or H.323.

The network proxy 102 can comprise a communications interface 104 thatutilizes common technology for communicating over an IP interface withthe IP network 101, the media gateway 109, or the cellular network 103.By way of the communications interface 104, the network proxy 102 candirect by common means any of the foregoing network elements toestablish circuit switched and/or packet switched connections betweenterminals 116 distributed throughout the communication system 100. Thenetwork proxy 102 further comprises a memory 106 (such as a highcapacity storage medium) embodied in this illustration as a database,and a controller 108 that makes use of computing technology such as adesktop computer, or scalable server for controlling operations of thenetwork proxy 102. The network proxy 102 can operate as an IP MultimediaSubsystem (IMS) conforming in part to protocols defined by standardsbodies such as 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Protocol).

Under the control of the network proxy 102, the media gateway 109 canlink packet-switched and circuit-switched technologies such as thecellular network 103 (or central office 113) and the IP network 101,respectively. The media gateway 109 can conform to a proprietary mediagateway control protocol (MGCP) or an open standard such as H.248defined in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). This protocol canhandle signaling and session management needed during a multimediaconference. The protocol defines a means of communication between themedia gateway 109, which converts data from the format required for acircuit-switched network to that required for a packet-switched network.MGCP can therefore be used to set up, maintain, and terminate callsbetween multiple disparate network elements of the communication system100. The media gateway 109 to support hybrid communication environmentssuch as VoIP to POTS and vice-versa.

The cellular network 103 can support voice and data services such asGSM-GPRS, EDGE, CDMA-1×, UMTS, and other known technologies. Thecellular network 103 is coupled to base stations 107 under afrequency-reuse environment for communicating over-the-air with roamingterminal devices 116.

FIG. 2 depicts exemplary embodiments of the terminal device 116. In oneembodiment, the terminal device 116 can be embodied in an immobiledevice (e.g., a wireline phone such as a POTS, VoIP or video terminal).In another embodiment, the terminal device 116 can include short rangecommunications technology (e.g., a cordless phone, Bluetooth or WiFi) tosupport mobility within a small area such as the end user's residence.Alternatively, the terminal device 116 can represent a mobile terminaldevice utilizing a wireless transceiver 202 that supports long-rangewireless communications such as supported by the cellular network 103.The wireless transceiver 202 of terminal device 116 utilizes technologyfor exchanging voice and data messages with the base stations 107, whichin turn relays said messages to targeted end user terminals 116. In amultimode embodiment, the terminal device 116 can utilize a transceiver202 that supports the aforementioned wireless and wireline accesstechnologies (e.g., POTS, WiFi, Bluetooth™, cordless, and cellular).

Each of these embodiments of the terminal device 116 can further utilizea memory 204, an audio system 206, a radio frequency identification(RFID) device 207, and a controller 208. The memory 204 can comprisestorage devices such as RAM, SRAM, DRAM, and/or Flash memories. Thememory 204 can be an integral part of the controller 208. The audiosystem 206 can comprise a low volume speaker for listening to messagesnear the end user's ear and an associated microphone for exchangingmessages with calling parties. The audio system 206 can further utilizea loud speaker for listening to announcements at a distancesubstantially away from the end user's ear, and as a speakerphonefeature. The RFID device 207 can represent a passive or active RFID forshort-range communications that serve the purpose of identifying thepresence of another terminal having a similar device and conveying tosaid terminal its presence and identification.

The controller 208 can manage the foregoing components with computingtechnology such as a microprocessor and/or digital signal processor. Theterminal devices 116 can further include a display 210 for conveyingimages to the end user, a keypad 212 for manipulating operations of thecommunication device, and a portable power supply 213. The audio system206, display 210, and the keypad 212 can singly or in combinationrepresent a user interface (UI) for interfacing with the end user.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary method 300 operating in portions of thecommunication system 100. Method 300 begins with step 302 in which anend user submits a request to the network proxy 102 to migrate from afirst terminal (e.g., a cell phone) to a third terminal (e.g., alandline phone) while active communications (e.g., a VoIP or circuitswitch voice call) is taking place between the first terminal and secondterminal. The request can be submitted to the network proxy 102 anynumber of ways.

For example, the end user can browse a website associated with thenetwork proxy 102 by way of the first or third terminal 116 or someother computing device. At this website, the end user can request amigration between the aforementioned first and third terminals byselecting options in a UI presented by said website. In response toselecting a migration request, an Internet server supporting the websitegenerates an Internet message corresponding to the request and transmitssaid message to the network proxy 102. Alternatively, the website can beintegrally managed by the network proxy 102 in which case it can takedirect action on the request without a message transmission step.

Alternatively, the end user can send the migration request to thenetwork proxy 102 as an over-the-air message (e.g., a short messageservice (SMS) message) utilizing common functions of the first or thirdterminal 116. In yet another embodiment, the end user can depress one ormore keys on the first or third terminal thereby submitting a sequenceof Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) signals to the network proxy 102which can represent the request (e.g., *8 to request a migration fromcell phone to landline, or landline to cell phone depending on whichterminal the network proxy 102 detects is submitting the request). Thenetwork proxy 102 can be programmed with any DTMF code to engage anynumber of desired migrations (cell phone to home, cell phone to office,cell phone to computer, home to cell phone, office to cell phone,computer to cell phone, and so on). In yet another embodiment, the enduser of the first terminal 116 can interact with an interactive voiceresponse system (IVR) managed or integrated into the network proxy 102to specify by way of DTMF and/or voice signals a desired migration.

In yet another embodiment, the first and third terminals 116 can includea wireless transmitter in one terminal and a wireless receiver in theother (such as an RFID transmitter and RFID receiver) providing theterminal with the receiver a means to detect a presence of the otherterminal. When such detection occurs, the receiving terminal 116 canautomatically transmit the migration request to the network proxy 102over a SS7, SIP or H.323 protocol. For example, in the case where thefirst terminal 116 is a cell phone, it can have a receiver to detect asignal transmitted by the third terminal (a landline).

In another embodiment, each of the first and third terminals 116 caninclude the RFID devices 207 mentioned earlier for mutual detection andidentification. The first and third terminals 116 can decide amongstthemselves which should send the migration request, or one of saidterminals can be programmed to be the one that always submits saidrequest. In yet another embodiment, the first or second terminal 116 canprovide its end user a notice such as by way of a user interface (UI)presented at the display 210 informing said user of its detection of theother terminal. The UI can further include a prompt suggesting amigration between terminals by way of selection buttons (e.g., “Accept”or “Reject”).

It would be evident to an artisan with ordinary skill in the art fromthe aforementioned examples that there innumerable embodiments forsubmitting a request to the network proxy 102.

Upon receiving the request from step 302, the network proxy 102 can beprogrammed in step 304 to direct one or more network elements (e.g., themedia gateway 109, the central office 113, the PBX 114, the IP network101, and/or the cellular network 103) of the communication system 100 toestablish a voice channel with the third terminal. This step canrepresent the initiation of a network origination call to the thirdterminal 116 in which the end user hears a ringing alert at the thirdterminal prompting the end user to activate the terminal by removing itfrom its base or selecting a call acceptance button (e.g., a “Talk”button). Alternatively, if the request submitted to the network proxy102 originated at the third terminal 116 by way of, for example, a DTNIFsignal (e.g. *8) initiated by the end user, the network proxy 102 can beprogrammed in step 304 to direct the communication system 100 toestablish a voice channel with the third terminal without all the stepsrequired in a network origination call.

In step 306, the network proxy 102 can be programmed to connect orbridge the voice channel of the third terminal 116 to the active voicechannel connecting the first and second terminals 116. The network proxy102 can be programmed in step 308 to contemporaneously terminate withoutaction of the end user of the first terminal 116 a connection betweenthe first terminal and the active voice channel resulting in a voicechannel connection between the second and third terminals 116 only. Atthis point, the migration from the first terminal 116 to the thirdterminal without requiring either party to terminate the active voicechannel and initiate a network origination call from the third terminalto the second terminal (or vice-versa) as is required by prior artsystems today.

In an alternative embodiment, the network proxy 102 can be programmed instep 303 to send a notice to the end user requesting the migration ateither the first or third terminal 116 indicating the migration step isready to be executed. The end user can then decide to reject, or acceptthe migration by submitting a migration acceptance message by way ofDTMF signals or an IVR interaction in step 305. Once accepted, thenetwork proxy 102 can proceed with steps 306-308 as previouslydescribed. In another embodiment, the network proxy 102 can beprogrammed in step 309 to transmit a completion signal to the thirdterminal 116 indicating to an end user of said terminal that s/he canengage in communications with the second terminal. The completion signalcan be an audible signal such as a double beep conveyed by the audiosystem 206, a text signal presentable on the display 210, or some otherform of notification technique suitable to the present disclosure.Without step 309, the end user of the third terminal 116 can assume thistransition has occurred by attempting communications with the end userof the second terminal 116 and detecting a response.

In yet another embodiment, the network proxy 102 can be programmed instep 310 to receive a conferencing request from one of the end users ofthe second or third terminal 116, or from a third party requesting byway of a fourth terminal to be added to the active call between thesecond and third terminals. Alternatively, the third party's request canbe directed in step 311 to one among the end users of the second orthird terminal 116 by way of a call waiting function. The targeted enduser can in turn reject or accept the call for conferencing purposes. Ifaccepted, the terminal 116 of the targeted end user can be programmed instep 312 to submit the request to network proxy 102 to add the fourthterminal to the active call.

Step 310 accordingly does not represent a request for migration, butrather a request to conference third parties. Upon receiving theconferencing request, the network proxy 102 in steps 313-314 directs thecommunication system 100 to establish a voice channel with the fourthterminal and connects said voice channel to the active channel betweenthe second and third terminals. Like in step 304, step 313 can representa network origination call to the fourth terminal or a voice channelconnection to the fourth terminal if it is actively engaged by the enduser of said terminal. s

It would be apparent to an artisan with ordinary skill in the art thatthe aforementioned embodiments can be modified, reduced, or enhancedwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the claims describedbelow. For example, method 300 can be modified to perform migration andthird party conferencing functions described above for datacommunications without a voice function. The symbol (S) connecting tostep 310 can denote an embodiment in which steps 310-312 can beperformed by the network proxy 102 and terminal devices 116 independentof the migration steps 302-308, thereby providing a means for inclusionof third parties for conferencing purposes. These are but a few examplesof modifications that can be applied to the present disclosure. Thereader is therefore directed to the claims below for a fullerunderstanding of the breadth and scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 400 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed above. In some embodiments, the machine operatesas a standalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may beconnected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient user machine in server-client user network environment, or as apeer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 400 may include a processor 402 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 404 and a static memory 406, which communicate with each othervia a bus 408. The computer system 400 may further include a videodisplay unit 410 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system400 may include an input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 414 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 416, a signal generationdevice 418 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 420.

The disk drive unit 416 may include a machine-readable medium 422 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 424)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 424may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 404, the static memory 406, and/or within the processor 402during execution thereof by the computer system 400. The main memory 404and the processor 402 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 424, or that which receives and executes instructions 424from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 426 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 426 using the instructions 424. Theinstructions 424 may further be transmitted or received over a network426 via the network interface device 420.

While the machine-readable medium 422 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; and/or magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk ortape. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one ormore of a machine-readable medium as listed herein and includingart-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the softwareimplementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated toachieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodimentsshown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations orvariations of various embodiments. Combinations of the aboveembodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein,will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the abovedescription.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 47 C.F.R. §1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: responsive to receiving arequest, during an active communication session between a first end userdevice and a second end user device by a first connection to a firstchannel, to migrate the active communication session from the first enduser device to a third end user device: facilitating, by a processingsystem including a processor, a network origination call to the thirdend user device via a second channel; and facilitating, by theprocessing system, a second connection of the first channel and thesecond channel by way of a communications bridge to maintain the activecommunication session; contemporaneously and responsive to initiation ofthe network origination call, terminating, by the processing system, thefirst connection between the first end user device and the firstchannel; and transmitting, by the processing system, a notification tothe third end user device indicating that the third end user device canengage in communications with the second end user device.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the terminating of the first connection between thefirst end user device and the first channel is performed contemporaneouswith a detection at the third end user device of an acceptance of thenetwork origination call.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theterminating of the first connection between the first end user deviceand the first channel releases the first channel.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the request is transmitted by the first end user deviceresponsive to a detection of the third end user device by the first enduser device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first end user deviceobtains an identifier of the third end user device via short-rangecommunications via a radio frequency identification device.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the request includes an identifier of thethird end user device.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstchannel comprises a voice channel.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, by the processing system, a conferencing requesttransmitted from a fourth end user device to connect the fourth end userdevice to the second end user device and the third end user device; andfacilitating, by the processing system, a third connection of a thirdchannel and the fourth end user device.
 9. The method of claim 8,further comprising facilitating, by the processing system, a fourthconnection of the second channel and the third channel, wherein thefourth connection of the second channel and the third channel isfacilitated during the active communications session.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the processing system, asignal to the third end user device indicating that the activecommunication session with the second end user device is available tothe third end user device.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thesignal comprises an audible signal, a text signal, or any combinationthereof.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, by theprocessing system, a notice to a user of the first channel regardingdetection of one of the first end user device by the third end userdevice or the third end user device by the first end user device.
 13. Anend user device, comprising: a processing system including a processor;and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed bythe processing system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:facilitating a first connection to a first channel to enable an activecommunication session with a second end user device via the firstchannel; sending a request to a server to migrate the activecommunication session with the second end user device to a third enduser device, wherein the server facilitates a network origination callto the third end user device via a second channel, and wherein theserver facilitates a second connection of the first channel and thesecond channel by way of a communications bridge when the networkorigination call is answered by the third end user device to maintainthe active communication session; and facilitating termination of thefirst connection between the end user device and the first channelcontemporaneously and responsive to initiation of the networkorigination call.
 14. The end user device of claim 13, wherein the firstconnection between the end user device and the first channel isautomatically terminated contemporaneous with a detection at the thirdend user device of an acceptance of the network origination call. 15.The end user device of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprisereceiving an identifier of the third end user device via short-rangecommunications via a radio frequency identification device.
 16. The enduser device of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprisedetecting the third end use device, wherein the sending of the requestto the server to migrate the active communication session is responsiveto the detecting of the third end user device.
 17. The end user deviceof claim 13, wherein the first channel comprises a first voice channel,and wherein the second channel comprises a second voice channel.
 18. Amachine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructionsthat, when executed by a processing system including a processor,facilitate performance of operations, comprising: responsive toreceiving a request to conference a third end user device into an activecommunication session between a first end user device and a second enduser device over a first connection to a first channel, initiating anetwork origination call to the third end user device via a secondchannel; and facilitating a second connection of the first channel andthe second channel by way of a communications bridge to complete theconference of the first end user device, the second end user device, andthe third end user device.
 19. The machine-readable storage medium ofclaim 18, wherein the request is transmitted by the third end userdevice responsive to a detection, by the third end user device, of thefirst end user device, the second end user device, or any combinationthereof.
 20. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 18, whereinthe processing system comprises a plurality of processors operating in adistributed processing environment.